Why Deepika Padukone's exit from Prabhas-led film Spirit is a power move, not a problem

Dubai: “No uterus, no opinion,” said Rachel Green, played brilliantly by Jennifer Aniston in hit sitcom Friends. She was being flippant, but she wasn’t wrong.

This week, Deepika Padukone and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga reportedly parted ways on Spirit, the Prabhas-led film.

Why? She reportedly asked for an eight-hour workday—reasonable, considering she just had a baby—and a Rs200 million fee. She also wanted a few intimate scenes reworked. Sensible asks, all of them.

Instead of a professional response, what followed was a dig from Vanga—who seemed to suggest that Deepika was somehow belittling the actress who replaced her. Classic deflection. Turn it into a women-vs-women issue and dodge accountability.

But this isn’t about petty rivalry. This is about how women, especially mothers, are expected to shrink themselves the moment they step back into the workforce.

And Deepika’s not the first woman in showbusiness to be punished for knowing her value. Let’s talk Hollywood.
When All the Money in the World had to be reshot, Mark Wahlberg walked away with $1.5 million. Michelle Williams? Just $1,000. Equal job, shockingly unequal pay. She didn’t complain, so she got scraps.

Jennifer Lawrence had to find out through the Sony hack that her American Hustle co-stars were earning more than her. Why didn’t she negotiate harder? She admitted: she didn’t want to seem “difficult” or “spoiled.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal was told she was “too old” at 37 to play the love interest of a man pushing 60.
Thandiwe Newton walked off Magic Mike’s Last Dance after creative clashes and was labelled “difficult.”
And Monique? She allegedly dared to ask Netflix for the same pay they threw at her male (and white female) peers. She sued for discrimination. And guess what—she won the right to stand her ground.

So let’s not act surprised that Deepika, the face of global luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Cartier, asked for the rate and respect that reflect her place in the industry. That’s not entitlement. That’s leadership.

What’s disturbing is how hustle culture continues to be glorified. As if working mothers should feel guilty for asking for balance.

Celebrated Indian director of the upcoming Eid release 'Thug Life', Mani Ratnam, and erudite Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan both said it—an eight-hour shift for a new mom is basic. Not bold. Not brave. Just humane.

Deepika doesn’t need to be shoehorned back into this film. What she—and every woman in the industry—needs is normalisation of these conversations. About boundaries. About compensation. About not having to be grateful for crumbs.

And please, let’s retire the line about her being “too big for her designer shoes.” She’s just no longer willing to shrink herself to fit into other people’s limited vision of what a female star should be.

From Hollywood to Bollywood, the message to women has long been: take less, speak softly, and never rock the boat. But Deepika’s refusal to play along? That’s not drama. That’s progress.

Maybe the problem isn’t her.
Maybe it’s an industry still terrified of a woman who knows her power—and actually uses it.